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of fuch beneficial Offices? Was he not fuffi ciently gifted? Yes certainly he was. Did not the Extream Miferies of Man's Spiritual Bondage call loudly for relief? beyond alt doubt they did. Why then did not even Compaffion it felf, the Bleffed Jefus, then perfonally among them, undertake their speedy Rescue? Was it because his Hour was not yet come? Doubtlefs it was not come; but why? because he had not yet receiv'd his COMMIS SION from his Father, So that, if our Lord's Example may be allow'd in this Cafe to be Conclufive, it is plain, that not all the Gifts imaginable, nor all the preffing Neceffities that may be pleaded, can ever of themselves give fufficient Warrant to Minister Authoritatively, for Men, in things pretaining to God, when those things are of fuch a Nature, as that a Commiffion from him must be firft obtain'd by the Perfon who undertakes to Adminifter And that therefore fuch a Perfon ought to be duly Commiffion'd for fuch Administrations. Now that Chriftian Baptism is such an Inftitution as neceffarily requires, and conftantly fup poses the Divine Authority of the Adminiftrator, I fhall endeavour to Demonstrate,

Thirdly, From the Words of Inftitution s And in order thereto, 'twill be very well worth while to obferve, that our Saviour, a little before his Afcenfion into Heaven, ap pointed the ELEVEN APOSTLES, and THEM ONLY (notwithstanding the vaft

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Numbers of other Difciples which he had at the fame time,) to go to a particular Mountain in Galilee, which he had told them of, (St. Matth. 28. 16.) Where, when they were affembl'd, he came to them, and firft afferted his own Power and Authority wherewith he was Invested, to Authorize and Commission them for the Great Office he was then going to confer on them, faying, All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth, ver. 18. Whereby he fufficiently affur'd them, that they might rest secure and fatisfy'd, that The Commiffion he was going to give them was of full Force and Virtue, and fufficiently Valid to impower them to act for the future according to the Contents thereof. And indeed the great things he was about to Authorize them to do, were of fo uncommon a Nature, and of fuch vaft Confequence to Mankind, that they might very well have doubted even of the jufficiency of their Commiffion, if our Lord had not thus fix'd their Faith in his Power and Authority to give it them: When therefore he had thus prepar'd their Minds, he then proceeds to, give them This Commiffion as the Confequent of that Power which was given him over all things; faying, GO YE THEREFORE and Teach (or rather) DISCIPLE ALL NATIONS, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST, teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I

Ε

have

have commanded you; AND LOI AM WITH YOU ALWAY, EVEN UNTO THE END OF THE WORLD. These are the Words of Inftitution of Baptism, wherein 'tis clear at first fight, that the Eleven Apoftles were the peculiar Perfons to whom the Authority of Baptizing was committed [Go ye] and not only they, but also all those who fhould fucceed them, to the end of the World; [Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the World]; for our Saviour's Promife to be with them fo long, cannot poffibly be meant of their parti cular Perfons which were not to live to the end of the World, and therefore it must signify the Apoftles in another Sense, viz. those whom THEY and THEIR SUCCESSORS fhould Appoint throughout all Ages.

So that, by the Words of Inftitution aboverecited, it plainly appears, that as long as the World fhall laft, The Apostles and their Succeffors are the Perfons Commiffion'd to Difciple the Nations, Baptizing them; and hereby 'tis neceffarily imply'd, that as often as this One Baptifm is perform'd, fo often 'tis done by One who has this Commiffion given to him; otherwise the Promife of being with fuch Commiffion'd Perfons to the end of the World, would have been in vain and of no neceffity: And if it were not defign'd by the Inftitution, that Baptizing fhould be perform'd to the end of the World by a Succeffor of the Apoftles or his SubAtitute; it might for the very fame Reafon be

faid, that teaching was not defign'd to be by fuch a Succeffor to the end of the World, and fo the whole Commiffion would be but Temporary, and confequently the MINISTERS of Chrift, and BAPTIZING and TEACHING would be but Temporary; and Chrift's Promise of being with his Apoftles in these their Ministrations to the end of the World, would have been made without any defign of fulfilling it, which is a Blafphemous Contradiction to the Infallible Veracity of our Bleffed Lord; and therefore as long as the World shall laft, there must be Baptizing, and as long as there fhall be Baptizing, there must be fuch a One to perform it, as Chrift has promis'd to be with, viz. a Succeffor to the Apoftles or his Subftitute, to the utmoft bounds of that Duration.

For 'tis very remarkable, that Chrift does not here fay, Lo I am with Baptizing, Lo I am with Teaching alway, &c. But, GO YE, Baptizing, Teaching, and LO I AM WITH YOU. The Promife (of his Prefence and Concurrence) is, to be with THEM, not with the Acts feparate from them, but with THEM performing and doing those A&ts; and because tis to be with Them Baptizing alway even to the End of the World, and becaufe their particular Perfons were not to continue here fo long, therefore THEY are neceffarily TO BE in fome other refpect always, &c. And this can be no otherwise than by Succeffion; and then the Succeffion must be fuch, as that it may be E 2 juftly

justly called Them, otherwife Thofe to whom the Promife was made will in all respects cease to be, and confequently the Promife it felf will be of no effect, which is abfurd. This Succeffion then must be fuch, as that the Apostles must remain to the End of the World; and that can be by no other way than One of these Two, either First, by God himself miraculoufly interpofing always to appoint their Succeffors, which he has no where promis'd to do, and therefore this is not to be expected; or Secondly, By the Apostles continuing them felves in a Succeffion by fome Act of their own, viz. by a Spiritual Generation of fuch as may in one refpect or other be themselves; that is, by their Ordaining, fuch as they were, and Vefting them, fome with the whole ordinary Apoftolick Authority, and others with part thereof; to the intent, that all who act in the Sacred Function of Baptizing, whether in a Higher or Lower Degree, may be justly Entituled to have this Promise verify'd and made good with respect to their Act, Lo I am with you [Baptizing] alway: For if he who Baptizes be not One of the [Tou] an Apoftle or Sent of Christ, in a Higher or Lower Degree, to whom the Promife was made, his Act can claim no Right to the Promise, and therefore will be a Contradiction to this Sacred Inftitution. So that it muft neceffarily follow, that this Inftitution requires Baptifm always to be Adminiftred by One Vefted with Apoftolick

Authority,

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